Woolly Rosette Grass

Panicum scabriusculum Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. 1: 121. 1816
Panicum lanuginosum Bosc; Spreng. Syst. 1: 319. 1825. Not P. lanuginosum Ell. 1816. Panicum eriophorum Schultes; Kunth, Enum. 1: 128. 1833. Panicum Nealleyi Vasey, Bull. Torrey Club 13: 25. 1886.
Panicum dichotomum datum Vasey, Bull. U. S. Dep. Agr. Bot. 8:31. 1889.
Vernal phase grayisholive; culms erect, 1-1.5 meters high, scabrous at least below the nodes, sometimes puberulent, the nodes glabrous or puberulent; leaf -sheaths shorter than the internodes, glabrous to more or less hispid at least toward the summit, often mottled or whitespotted, commonly swollen at the base and contracted toward the summit; ligule short-membranaceous, usually with a ring of hairs above; blades stiffly ascending or spreading, often reflexed, 15-25 cm. long, 9-12 or rarely 15 mm. wide, glabrous or scabrous, often more or less pubescent beneath, gradually tapering to an involute point, slightly narrowed toward the base; panicles finally exserted, 10-20 cm. long, half to two thirds as wide, rarely wider, many-flowered, the axis glabrous or pubescent, often viscid, the flexuous branches ascending, spikelet-bearing from near the base; spikelets 2.3-2.6 mm. long, 1.1-1.3 mm. wide, ovate, pointed, glabrous or obscurely puberulent; first glume less than one sixth as long as the spikelet; second glume and sterile lemma strongly nerved, exceeding the fruit and forming an abrupt point beyond it ; fruit 1.8 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, elliptic.
Autumnal phase erect, branching from the middle and upper nodes, the branches appressed, somewhat longer than the internodes, finally bearing fascicled branchlets and forming dense oblong masses along the upper part of the primary culm, the sheaths, especially the later ones, densely papillose-hirsute, the flat, reduced blades ovate-lanceolate, reduced in length much more than in width, the panicles partly or entirely inclosed in the sheaths.
Type locality: Savannah, Georgia.
Distribution: New Jersey to Florida and eastern Texas.

Panicum cryptanthum Ashe, Bull. N. Car. Exp. Sta
175: 115. 1900.
Vernal phase cespitose; culms erect, 80-100 cm. high, glabrous except the usually bearded nodes; leaf -sheaths glabrous or the lowermost sparsely hirsute, the upper somewhat inflated, all more or less ciliate on the margins and pilose at the summit; Jigule membranaceous, erose, scarcely 0.5 mm. long; blades stiff, ascending or spreading, acuminate, involute-pointed, glabrous, sparingly ciliate at base, 10-15 cm. long, 7-9 mm. wide; panicles short-exserted, 6-10 cm. long, nearly as wide, the axis and ascending branches viscid-spotted; spikelets 2.2-2.4 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, lanceolate-elliptic, pointed; first glume one fourth to one third as long as the spikelet ; second glume and sterile lemma equal, longer than the fruit and pointed beyond it, glabrous or sparsely pilose; fruit 1.5 mm. long, 0.9 mm. wide, elliptic.
Autumnal phase erect, glabrate on the nodes, sparingly branching from the middle and upper nodes, the branches stiffly ascending at an angle of 30-45 degrees; blades flat, stiffly ascending, 2-5 cm. long, 3-5 mm. wide, involute-pointed; panicles reduced to a narrow cluster partially hidden in the sheaths.
Type locality: Wilson's Mill, North Carolina. Distribution: North Carolina to Florida; eastern Texas.

Panicum aculeatum Hitchc. & Chase; Hitchc. Rhodora 8:
209. 1906.
Vernal plants in large clumps; culms slender, 70-100 cm. high, ascending, scabrous, harshly pubescent below; leaf-sheaths papillose-hispid with stiff, sharp-pointed hairs, a puberulent ring at the summit, the uppermost usually glabrous; ligule minute, membranaceous, ciliate; blades firm, stiflly ascending or spreading, 12-20 cm. long, 9-13 mm. wide, acuminate, involute-pointed, scarcely narrowed to the rounded base, very scabrous on the upper surface and toward the apex beneath; panicles 8-12 cm. long, about as wide, few-flowered, the slender, flexuous, fascicled branches ascending or spreading, naked at the base, scabrous, sometimes with a few viscid spots; spikelets 3 mm. long, elliptic, minutely pubescent; first glume one fourth to one third as long as the spikelet, acute ; second glume and sterile lemma abruptly acute, slightly exceeding the fruit; fruit elliptic, 2.7 mm. long, 1.3 mm. wide, minutely umbonate.
Autumnal phase branching from the middle nodes, the branches more or less divaricate, not much crowded, the blades not greatly reduced, the ultimate panicles wholly or partially included in the sheaths.
Type locality: Takoma Park, District of Columbia.
Distribution: Long Island, New York, to North Carolina.